Apparatus for splitting almonds



June 24, 1952 A D, R, BAlLE-Y 2,601,490

, APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING ALMoNDs Filed June 1, 1948 "MMSE INVENTOR.DAV/D l?. BAILEY Patented June 24, `1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE p f2,601,490 Y APPARATUS FOR SPLITTING ALMONDS David R. Bailey, Sacramento,Calif.

Application June 1, 1948, Serial No. 30,278 (orme-72) 1 Claim.

The present invention is for improvement in method and apparatus forsplitting almond kernels, and more particularly relates to the splittingof the kernels substantially on the plane of their natural seam.

In a co-pending application led simultaneously I have disclosed a methodand apparatus for halving almonds longitudinally perpendicular to theseam.

As is well known, the almond kernel of commerce isrthe product of analmond nut which grows in a frangible shell surrounded by a husk. Afterharvesting, the surrounding husk is removed, after which the nut isdried, in which condition the shells are then removed to provide thedried almond kernel of commerce. These kernels when harvested areusually of a moist relatively soft pliable consistency, but when driedare crunchy, brittle and shatterable. Therefore it has been diiiicultwithout considerable chipping and shattering, to split the dried almondson their seam which is a natural planar division of the almond intobisegmental planar parts which are held together in opposed face to facesupercial contact at the seam.

Many advantageous uses and needs for almonds thus split are present inthe bakery, confectionery and other arts. Consequently, it has becomedesirable that a portion of the annular crop of kernels shall be sosplit into planar segments substantially on the cleavage line of theseam, or closely parallel thereto, it being recognized that thesplitting of the almond cannot always exactly coincide with the plane ofthe natural seam.

Since it is the almond kernels only which are processed by thisinvention, they are generally referred to merely as almonds.

Among the objects `of the present invention are to provide a method andapparatus for splitting almonds into segments substantially on thenatural planar seam or closely parallel thereto.

Another object is to provide a method for restoring pliability toalmonds prior to splitting them on ltheir planar seam, and removing thepliability after they are so split.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus adapted for deliveringalmonds to a cutter knife with the seam of the nut in substantially thesame plane as the cutting edge of the knife.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be apparentfrom or further set forth in this speciiication, one advantageous seriesof steps by which the method may be practiced and one form in which theapparatus of the invention may be embodied, are described herein, theapparatus being illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it beingunderstood, howeverthat variaticnsof details may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention which is defined in theappended claim.

Since a portion of the steps of the method of the invention may beperformed by the apparatus of the invention, the steps of the methodwill be more fully described in connection with the operation of theapparatus.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one form of apparatus by which theinvention may be advantageously practiced.

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical end view of apparatus of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of apparatus in Fig.1 in vertical cross section.

Referringto the drawing in which like reference characters indicatecorresponding parts in the several views, I0 is a suitable feed hopperfor receiving a batch of almonds, the hopper having a bottom opening I Iunderlying which is one end oi a transverse shaker plate I2, which ismounted for reciprocation on tracks I2a. The forward wall of the hopperterminates short of the shaker plate and thereby provides an elongatedslotted opening I3 parallel with the plate and of a height of opening topermit passage therethrough from the hopper to the plate of the selectedsize oi almonds I4 to be processed.

As is well known, the almond kernel is an elongated ovoidal body,relatively wide parallel to its seam Ma and relatively thin in a planeperpendicular thereto, its periphery narrowing in thickness at edges ofthe seam so that it would not normally be self-supporting upright on theperipheral edge of the seam. Therefore, the almonds as they are fed fromthe hopper upon the shaker plate always rest upon the planar side asshown in the drawing with the natural plana;1 seam |411 parallel to theshaker plate.

The shaker plate is inclined downwardly from the hopper discharge feedopening I3 toward a belt assembly to be described. In order that thealmonds may not slide uncontrolled and helterskelter on the plate, thedownward incline of the plate is less than the angle of free slippage.Therefore, the plate is agitated or vibrated by any suitable means tocause a gradual slippage of the almonds down the incline. The vibratingor shaking means as here exemplified comprises an eccentric hub I5mounted for rotation at I6 and having a pitman rod I'I connected to thebottom of the shaker plate as at I8, whereby said plate is vibratedlongitudinally, and thereby moves the almonds thereon down the inclineof the plate.

The opposite or free end I2b `of the shaker stantially equal to andpreferably somewhatv Wider than the overlying outlet [2b of the shaker'Each continuous beltis mountedy at its plate. opposite ends around apair of relatively spaced rotatable rollers 22. 23, and 24, 25': Thepairfof rollers of each belt are preferably disposed relatively spacedvertically, and the respective pairs of rollers for the belts arerelatively spaced horizontally with axes parallel so that the opposedconveyor faces ofi` the belts are'. xedly` parallel for the grade or;size ofV almonds being run through the'` apparatus The horizontalspacing of the frolle'rs'of! the respective belts'i'sffsuilicierit to"provide a spacef 26" between opposed` parallel faces of the belt lengthsorl iiightsy substantially equal to, but preferably-l a` trifleV lessthanl the average thickness of the? body ofY the grade of selectedalmonds being-processed;edge plates'2`6a preventing the almonds tromWorking. out of space 26. The drive of the: rollersisso' arrangedthat'they rotate c'ounterclockwisefor' onebelt, say belt 20, andclockwiseV for the-other. beltZ-I, whereby the? opposedl and: parallel`belt faces 20a and Zia move in the same direction simultaneou'sly'.Suchla drive'may berac'complished inany well-knownway, and! is:hereinconventionally shown asa twisted belt drive I9 operative to rotateone roller. ofi each"- pair of.l belt-supporting rollers.

The belts arepreferablyl ofn'aturally resilient and non-sliprma'terial,suchasrubb'er composie tion reinforoedby textile fabric, .l so astobetter grip the almonds engagedbetweeni the: opposed racesl thereof; andfor this same1 purposei may, if desired, have roughene'd faces-1 ortransverse strips 2T betweentg'roovesi 28, forifurtherpressure'engagement'v ofitheLalmondfin-t'ransit bythe belt.YTlierbeltrollersf 22- tol 25; inclusive', may also be of a` softand'sp'origy material to` permit passage thereby, witlotLbreakage;` ofalmonds carried by# pressure-enga;gernentV between the opposed faces fofthe`r'e's'ilient'b'elts.l

Adjacent the?discharge-endlof? the belts, there is mountedtran'sv'er'se'ly centrally' ini the space' between the oppo'sed'fa'cesof thebeltlakni-fel 29, the cutting edge'.` 29a? of which is paralleliwith and substantially at" the sameelevatiomasvthe axes ofl'theYrollers;A andextends entirely across theY belt faces, the cuttingeolg'ev being substanltially perpendicular` to the length of the-belts-The knifeis substantially e'qu'ally' spaced from each adjacentbeltlfa'cev and in'V a plane substantiallyI paralleli theretoif' saidlcutting edge being substantially at-` or closely adjacentthev planethrough the axeslofthe'- rollers-as shownIin-Flig. 3, since it-is'atsaidpositiontha't the relatively opposed most neafrlyA adjacentportions1v oi the beltsonl rollers 22l' and" Z' begin to increasetherelative spacing.V of the belt faces# as they! pass around thediver-ging circumferen'ces of" the 'roll'- ers-at the discharge' endofthe'belts', The-knife is supported transversely of the belt byfbrackets3l. Thepurpose of-"havinglt'he'v cutting edge off the knife preferablyso-pesitionedj atlthe-di'schargel end of the* belts isv` that' i'f'" thealmonds were to becut bytheknife` while-theyy were engaged centrally ofthe length of thebelt,LA the resilientpressurepf the opposed b'eltf'faces would make the almonds frictionally press against the knife blade,tending to break the cut segments, and possibly cause them to pile up orcongest at the knife, whereas, with the cutting edge of the kniferpositioned as stated, the almonds, thoughl still engaged and propelled-fby the parallel opposedv faces of` the` belts,l are cut when they reachor are just passing the axes of the rollers, which is also the maximumopposed diameter ofthe rollers; at which point the belts begin to spreadfurther apart, as they -diverge around the=rollers,1softhat the pressureon the side faces of the almonds ceases as the almonds are cut, andthere is a space of progressively increasing width' between the knifeand belt faces as the belts pass around the rollers, so that the cutsegments` of the allnondsfA areV freely` discharged from'the-belt onbothsides-fof: the knife.

Any suitable dri-vemeansmaybeemployed to rotatively driver the belts 20and 2-I andl merely by way of example a motor wais-'illustrated drivingbelt i919', which in/.turndrives the twisted belty la of. dne'of-l the'rollersr propellingeachr belt, the belts 2l),v 21 serving todrive theirrespective upper rollers and the eccentric I5 of theV shaker plate. c

In'- operationAv of the-apparatus', and' practice of the method. thealmondkernels', are'rst graded for sizeand-fquality.y Since the almondswill-have previously been dried,Y they; are brittle and crunchyy andwould be liabletofbreak andi chip in the splitting process.Thereforeithealmonds are first moistened to'restore their pliabilityvand make them non-shatterable.

The moistenlngI or Y restoration" of, pliabilityr of the' almonds maybe` accomplishedf in several ways', three of whicharefset'iorth.

One' satisfactory methodv of moistening: the dried almonds torestore'pliability is-byv immersingithem'in Coldwater for a-short-periodof time; for example about-ve"seconds, merely to* thoroughlyfwet the,exterior; and' thenIl permitthem to stand, preferably in thesamevconta'iner, for approximately: 112L hours-iso' thatthetmoisture:may slowly and completely. penetratefthe: almond body and thus restoreits pliability throughout the body by absorption; This' methods'v ofrestoring the pliability permits large fquantities.4 of almonds to' be.vso treated: in batches` ofi 1300' poundsr oreven larger quantitiesenclosed inlporous'fsacks-for'perforated bins. Preferably thealmondsra're'moistened the evening: of one' dayA for operation through'.the" apparatusthe following morning;

A second and quicker'methodlo restoring-:plie abilityV is to: expose thealmondsf to -wet steam"A in a closed container' for'y approximately- 10-minutes; the pressure' of'the: steam servin'g".` to2 force; mois#turethrough `a batch? o'f almonds andiV to permeate through the body'of'y the individual almond. This second methodA involvesa` greater?expense of handling, but is quicker becauseth'e almonds may be passedthrough the apparatus for splitting immediately thereafter A third'method' of' restoring" the plability" of the kernels takes into accountthe' latent moisture andv oil in the dried'V almonds. t has` been foundby experiencethat the pliability may also be restored by heating thedried almonds in a non-aeratedcontainer; thatl is,- without exhaustingthef air' therein: which is moistened.- by the heated almonds. YPreferably' a rotating-r drum-'is employed' in which the temperature oftheA almorrdsz. is'v raised` to substantially '206 degreesrF; for.lapproximately'2o= intentas` after? wrich they may be immediately spliton their natural seam while still retaining the heat.

The almonds, with pliability restored, are then dumped in mass into thefeed hopper and fed responsive to gravity through the feed opening I land slot I3 to the downward inclined vibrated shaker plate I2. Since thealmonds will not normally stand on the peripheral edge, they arearranged on the planar side responsive to gravity, and if originallyresting one upon another, they will be levelled out by vibration of theshaker plate. The vibration of the plate moves the almonds down theinclined plate, to its discharge end I2b which overlies the arcuateportion of one belt where the belt loops around one of the upperrollers. The almonds are thus deposited on one of the moving belt facesat the upper end of the space between the opposed parallel belt faces,with the natural planar seam parallel to the belt face, and thereupondrop by gravity into the space 26, and are thus engaged by resilientpressure between the opposed relatively parallel moving belt faces 2041and 21a. The transverse strips 2l and grooves 23 facilitate the non-slipengagement of the almonds during transit by the belt. The belt facescarry the almonds thus held between them, to the cutting edge of theknife 29 which is spaced centrally and substantially parallel relativeto each of the belts; and since the seam of the almond is alsoapproximately centrally spaced in the almond body and thereforesubstantially centrally spaced between the opposed faces of the belts,the knife slices the almond substantially along its seam, and the twosegments of the almond drop into a bin 3| for further treatment.

Following the splitting process, the split almond kernels to whichmoisture has been added by either the first or second method ofrestoring pliability, are exposed to artificial heat, for example, ontrays for a period of from 60 to 75 minutes at a temperature of 130 to140 degrees F., or on conveyors from 15 to 20 minutes at 200 degrees F.which may include using infra-red lamps, the stated times andtemperatures being approximate by way of example. This treatment is toevaporate moisture added to the almond kernels as above described,removing the induced pliability and thus restore the crunchy brittlecharacteristics.

Where the third method of restoring pliability is employed, that is, thesubjecting of the whole dried almond kernels to heat, it is notnecessary to again subject them to heat for drying after splitting, butrather it isl only necessary to permit the split segments to cool tonormal temperature which removes the induced pliability and restores theoriginal crunchy, brittle characteristics.

The dried split almond segments are then passed over perforated screensto remove the small fragments and any imperfectly split kernels, sliversand broken pieces, after which the finished product is packed insuitable containers.

If the almonds are to be of the blanched type, additional initial stepsare taken with the whole almonds prior to passing the almonds throughthe apparatus for splitting them. In order to remove the skin orpellicle from the almonds, they are soaked in hot Water to loosen theskin from the enclosed nut meat, and the skin or pellicle may then beeasily removed mechanically by passing between corrugated resilientrollers, or manually by squeezing the kernel between the fingers, bothways being heretofore known. After removal of the skin, the almondkernels are allowed to stand for a substantial time, two hours beingsufficient by way of example, in order to permit the moisture topenetrate the center of the nut meat. This subjecting of the skinlessalmonds to moisture may soften the exterior portion of the nut meat morethan desired, so that it is desirable to expose the skinless nut meat toarticial heat for restoration of a firm consistent body to feed into thesplitting apparatus, though it is not thoroughly dried, since it isdesired to maintain its pliability similarly to other types of almondswhen being passed through the apparatus.

With the induced pliability retained, the skinless nut meat may then befed to and conveyed through the apparatus in the same manner ashereinbefore described for splitting and for further treatment. Thefinal drying time for the blanched almonds may be extended for a longerperiod than those retaining the skin, because, as a general rule, it isdesired that the split blanched almonds be restored to a greater degreeof brittleness than the almonds which have the pelf licle retained.

Having described the invention, I claim:

A device of the character described comprising a pair of relativelyspaced longitudinally movable resilient conveyor belts having fixedparallel substantially planar opposed faces, means at one end of thebelts for feeding almonds, a vibrated shaker plate interposed betweenthe feed means and belts and adapted for receiving almonds from the feedmeans, means for vibrating the shaker plate whereby almonds are fed atone end portion of the belts adjacent one end of the space between thebelts, a fixedly mounted cutting knife adjacent the opposite dischargeend of the belts and having its cutting edge in a plane centrally spacedbetween and substantially parallel to the belt faces, and rotatedrollers at the opposite ends of each belt, the rollers of one belt beingrotatable clockwise and the rollers of the other belt being rotatablecounterclcckwise whereby the opposed belt faces move simultaneously inthe same direction, said knife having its cutting edge transverselyperpendicular relative to the length of the belts and 4extending acrossthe entire face of the belts substantially at the plane through the axesof the adjacent rollers at the discharge end of the belts, whereby saidcutting edge is positioned closely adjacent the most nearly opposeddiameters of said rollers and a space of progressively increasing widthis provided on each side of the knife for discharge of the splitsections of almonds between each side of the knife and the adjacentdivergent face portions of the belt moving around the circumference ofthe rollers.

DAVID R. BAILEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,064,531 Ott June 1.0, 19131,126,991 Hahn Feb. 2, 1915 1,307,367 Logan June 24, 1919 1,664,334Thompson et al. Mar. 27, 1928 1,985,235 Bizzell et al Dec. 25, 19341,988,901 Hoefling Jan. 22, 1935 2,075,159 Andreasen Mar. 310, 19372,344,711 McNutt Mar. 21, 1944

